4 Reasons Every Petrolhead Should Try Offroading

Off roading seems to be the paradox of what most car guys love about cars. Most car guys love lowered, fast and shiny cars, while most off road vehicles are high off the ground, are slow and are usually dirty. So why do people love offroading? Here are some reasons to try off roading

Dat Incredible Chadkake

12 Feb 2016

ONE Freedom and exploration.
Most cars are consigned to travel on paved and sometimes dirt roads for almost all of their existence. Sometimes you drive along in the middle of nowhere and want to explore; but then you realize have an M3, and trying to go off road will surely damage your car. Not the case with off roaders; off roading gives you the freedom to explore just about anywhere even up a 20,000 foot volcano. Off roaders carry the same spirit as Christopher Colombus, Lewis and Clark and Buzz Aldrin. Go ahead, be curious and get out there and explore.

Curiousity made the off roader go that way.

4 Reasons Every Petrolhead Should Try Offroading

TWO Conquering mountains (literally)
One good reason people run marathons and the like is so they can brag to their friends that they did it. The same can apply to off roading; Jeremy Clarkson climbed to the top of a mountain in Scotland that no car before it had been able to climb. That was until he used a Land Rover to drive all the way to the top of it, and claim it in the name of Top Gear. Sometimes, you just can’t help but look back and say “I can’t believe I drove over/up/through that.”

Try getting HERE in your WRX

THREE You can do some crazy stuff off road.
While almost all roads have cops prowling for trouble makers, the wide open spaces of the Earth usually don’t have anyone waiting to bust you. This means that out in the boonies, you can do almost anything. You can jump, drift, speed, do burnouts, donuts, race you name it. The world is your oyster, waiting for you to open it.

Hold my beer, watch this!

FOUR There’s more to cars than going fast.
I have to say, going fast on a track in a sports car is pretty exhilarating. However, there’s more to cars than going fast. Sally Carrera in the movie Cars was talking about Route 66 to Lightning McQueen when she said this, “Cars didn’t drive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time.” Drifting in a snow covered parking lot at 8 miles an hour, or driving on a tight dirt road can be just as fun as driving a sports car on the open road. Like Lightning McQueen, we should sometimes slow down and enjoy the view, which sometimes is spectacular.

Life off road is a life well spent.

Comments

Did an experience day once which was fun!

I plan to have a lifted, snorkeled and caged Jimny on the drive at some point! They’re light and will go anywhere with a few mods.

Go with a Cherokee, they’re bigger and are amazing off road even In stock form

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXxd2fxtzOs

Off roading, where your car falling over is perfectly acceptable behaviour.

One of thr best hobbies out there. Quickest way to teach you how to fix a car going whilst going to places normally reserved for mountain goats. You can buy an ok 4x4 for a grand, easy access to a motorsport that can take you anywhere. Good start are Japanese motors which are reliable and get you in gently. Not thr most capable trucks but better than spending hours with the bonnet up when you’re just starting out.

Japanese 4x4’s are typically the most expensive to modify, at least here in the US. The Jeep XJ is pretty cheep, proven 4.0L I6, and pretty cheap to modify. But they’re all fun and that’s what counts!

Whether it’s my daily or not, I will always have a Jeep Wrangler. The ability to go anywhere at anytime adds another dimension to driving which makes me enjoy it more

Bleh…rolling tents. XJ’S are where it’s at ;P

Wheelin’ is the best white-knuckle fun you’ll ever have driving at 5mph!!! I’ve had 4 XJ’s, a couple stock and a couple modified. I can follow modified Yotas, Fords and Chevy’s in my stock XJ’s and it would blow their minds. If you’ve never been wheelin’ before, you DEFINITELY have to try it. Find a friend that has one, hopefully modified or look for a local 4x4 club, most will let you ride along for the day. That’s another thing the 4x4 community is absolutely awesome!! They’re some of the best people around.

5: It’s funny to watch your friend get soaked in mud as they try to push you out of a puddle.

Hey! Ontario Canada jeeper here, and past vice president of the Brampton Area Jeep Association. Great article. I love bringing my non off-road friends along as copilots. every time they are awestruck about how much more it is than pointing straight and going through a mud hole.